


Inure

by eltanin-malfoy (GammaDraconis)



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Arranged Marriage, Arranged Marriage, Canon Divergence - Post-Battle of Hogwarts, Canon Divergence - Post-Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Eventual Fluff, F/M, Forced Marriage, Light Angst, Post-Hogwarts, Reader-Insert, Short & Sweet, Soft Draco Malfoy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-11
Updated: 2021-01-11
Packaged: 2021-03-16 04:54:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,317
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28701009
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GammaDraconis/pseuds/eltanin-malfoy
Summary: Again, Draco surprised her by (acting?) seeming interested in setting up their house, arranging their things and the furniture properly. Perhaps it was just so that they could forge a relationship together somehow. It was… not exactly nice in her books (it should be a pretty expected thing, in her opinion), but at least a tad considerate of him. Having grown up in a household where her father rarely assisted in anything related to the household outside of money, she had expected about as much from him. She’d thought boys of her standing rarely differed from each other, at least in the ‘spoiled’ aspect.orMy take on an arranged marriage AU. Requested on my tumblr - eltanin-malfoy.
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Reader
Comments: 2
Kudos: 31





	Inure

It wasn’t that she hadn’t been expecting it all along. It wasn’t even that she had particularly protested against it, regardless of what she thought of it. She knew she hardly had a choice when it came to something like this. Such things were never unforeseen, they were organised as precisely as one might never expect. First, one of them had likely caught the eye of the parent of another at one of the many pointless feasts the purebloods insisted upon having, then their parents must have corresponded over their potential alliance in secret and lastly, they held a dinner where the two of them, the actual couple to be, were finally made aware of it all.

Her parents hadn’t even bothered to tell her it was going to be just the six of them together. She’d been anticipating some sort of crowd, people as inherently rich as the Malfoys hardly ever missed a chance to show off what they had to as many people as they could. It was only once they’d arrived had she realised what was going on. Draco had seemed somewhat blindsided at first as well but quickly began to act as if it was all nothing out of the ordinary. He even went as far as to make a joke about the whole affair. It managed to rub her the wrong way. Was he really out of the loop or was he just a decent actor? Did he have no hand in all of it? She couldn’t be sure of what to think.

She was fairly sure their guests were not in the habit of receiving envelopes as extravagant as the ones their parents had chosen for their wedding invitations. They were a very pale emerald colour and had their edges cut meticulously as to imitate roses, as were the cards within, with dark, pretentiously fancy calligraphy detailing her marriage to the Malfoy heir. They were even to be delivered by owls that looked about as large and fierce as grindylows. 

The cherry on top of it all was the ring Draco “proposed” to her with. A silver ring with a diamond so needlessly grandiose, wearing it felt like she constantly wanted to make a very public statement about their engagement. It annoyed her so much, even though she knew their marriage was mostly built around doing so. 

The war had driven public opinion surrounding the Malfoys into the ground. They were in desperate need of building themselves back up in society. Her family seemed to have been the perfect solution to their problem. They were a pureblooded family that didn’t rank as highly among others of their standing as the Malfoys previously had but had a mostly spotless reputation, having been mostly absent during the conflict. They’d turned out to be one of the few such families who hadn’t allied or even associated with the Death Eaters, it turned out. However, her parents weren’t unfamiliar with greed nor sin. Their marriage would certainly make them more famous in the public eye and would strike up their rapport with families higher up on the scale. And of course, their only child, their prized daughter, would marry into immense luxury and bear the next Malfoy heir. It seemed to be the ideal arrangement for either side.

It wasn’t that she had had some long term sweetheart whom her parents had rejected multiple times, someone whom she was planning on eloping with regardless of what would happen after. No, it was not even close to anything as romantic as that. All she had desired was some period of boundless freedom. Some time to be reckless in a way that she had never been permitted to be. A time when she wouldn’t have to be perceived by those she knew only desired her to be as close to perfect as she could be at every moment in time. But it seemed as if her destiny had been written in stone. She knew that if she retaliated against it with no definitive reason behind her actions, she would simply be ‘advised’ and ‘consoled’ until she was forced to give in to something even worse. At least this way she would never have to struggle much for security or health. 

And so, she quietly consented to all of it, knowing that the man she was meant to marry meant nothing to her, as did whatever life that now awaited her.

The wedding was as magnificent as one might imagine. The Malfoy Manor was the very definition of grandeur. Everything was decked out to the nines: fresh Madagascar jasmines and dahlias as far as the eye could see, the whitest white drapes she’d ever seen and perhaps some of the most elegant lawn furniture in the world. Her mum fixed up her old wedding gown for her to wear, wanting to continue a tradition her mother had made her follow. Narcissa Malfoy insisted she wore the Black family’s heirlooms, silver jewellery that seemed to fit Draco’s engagement ring to a T. 

However, no matter how immaculate the decorations were, the weather was dreary. It had rained all through the night prior and the ground was slightly mulchy as a result, even after the usage of several charms in an attempt to rid it of that quality. And while they were able to cover the wedding from the falling rain, there was no way to hide how very gloomy the sky was. It was as if the heavens were warning them yet no one else seemed to take much notice of it. 

Instead of going on a romantic vacation after their wedding, Draco and Y/N instead headed north to Cumbria (a very exotic location, for sure), where they were to move into one of the Malfoys’ other mansions. At nineteen, Y/N’s life, as she’d always seen it, had seemingly ended. She was now to be the mistress of her household, responsible for everything inside of it. It was something she was sure some people wanted, but something she had never desired to be, at least not so soon in her life.

To say things between Draco and Y/N were awkward was an understatement. They’d had to kiss at the wedding but there hadn’t been close to any such intimacy between them since. They’d held hands a bit at the ceremony and the reception, but barely even touched since they arrived at the mansion. They spoke to each other as one might speak to a class partner or a teammate assigned to one by a teacher. It wasn’t that Y/N found Draco particularly revolting or anything, it was just so strange to form a friendship with someone you were already married to. That too someone who seemed too embarrassed to say much to you even in an otherwise empty house.

It was almost sweet the way Draco had offered to sleep on the sofa their first night there, but the both of them had been raised to be polite in this cordial, almost frosty way, and it went on until they both eventually agreed to just share the bed. They slept far from each other but Y/N soon found herself waking up to Draco having snuggled closer to her, an arm loosely draped over her front and his soft snores blowing gently against the back of her neck. She pulled herself away from him and began nibbling at the inside of her cheek.

Would this ever become habitual for them? Or would it always feel so.. strange?

The next morning, Draco had woken up before she had and had even surprised her by making the two of them some tea. She’d smiled up at him as sincerely as she could and drank it down in an instant. She needed the caffeine if she was to get things in order at his, no,  _ their _ new house. 

Autumn was only beginning and the trees outside were still mostly green. The weather, however, was as if they were in the depths of heavy monsoon. Yesterday’s rain had seemingly never ended and it continued to make everything even slightly outdoorsy seem very painful. 

Again, Draco surprised her by (acting?) seeming interested in setting up their house, arranging their things and the furniture properly. Perhaps it was just so that they could forge a relationship together somehow. It was… not exactly nice in her books (it should be a pretty expected thing, in her opinion), but at least a tad considerate of him. Having grown up in a household where her father rarely assisted in anything related to the household outside of money, she had expected about as much from him. She’d thought boys of her standing rarely differed from each other, at least in the ‘spoiled’ aspect. 

“So?” She said as she looked up at him, wand in hand.

“So?” He responded, eyes looking at hers in an alarmed manner. His expressions were remarkably juvenile for someone as tall and generally theatrical as he was. It was as if his limbs had just grown longer but the rest of him had stayed the same. At least when he made faces like this.

“Is there anything you want to do specifically?”

“I mean, we can do whatever you’d like first, I’m not really- um, fussy.”

“Oh? Hm..” This had to be a lie, that too one which she would see the truth to, soon enough. It was hard to hide one’s tendencies to want things a certain way. “Maybe we should just get everything in the cupboards as soon as we can? We still have the extra trunks to open up and everything. We have all that china to put away as well..”   
  
“Good idea. So, should I just bring the trunks with the clothes and everything upstairs? And the china to the kitchen?”   
  
“Yes for the clothes, but I can take the china myself if that’s all right? I’ll put them away and you do the clothes. Is that okay?”

“Uh, yeah, sure.”

“Just don’t forget to vacuum charm the woollens and the coats and everything for cold weather. If you don’t do that then-”

“I can do that. I won’t forget.” His response seemed oddly cold.

“Okay.”

The two of them went downstairs and began with their separate responsibilities. Both of their tasks turned out to be laborious enough to last a few hours, a bit longer than she’d imagined Draco’s would take but she didn’t expect very much of him in this facet of affairs. Perhaps all the things they’d possessed and been gifted for their wedding were a bit excessive. There was enough space for it all anyway.

Having finished her task, Y/N was quick to start on lunch for the two of them. A hearty shepherd’s pie with a bottle of Merlot alongside. It was the least she could treat herself to, especially since she had very suddenly been forced into this… grown-up role. 

It wasn’t long before the two of them were seated at the uncomfortably long dining table, opposite each other, dining on their meals.

“Thank you for making this, by the way.”

“You’re welcome. It was no problem.”

“Thanks anyway. You know, I was thinking, shouldn’t we get a house-elf or a servant or something? We don’t have to do all these things ourselves and-”

“I don’t think we need one, do we? I’ll be home after all and I know how to deal with everything. It’s not like we have too much to take care of.”

“Oh, I- I see. If you think we don’t need one, I suppose it’s fine. I didn’t know you wanted to stay at home, I assumed-”

“I mean, it’s not like we need two incomes, do we? I’d be much better help just taking care of the house.”

“Well, I mean, I wasn’t exactly planning on working either. We don’t need an income at all- and it’s not like there’s anything I want to do. Nothing practical anyway.”

“ _ Oh _ . I see.” This did change things somewhat. She had been picturing a fairly solitary lifestyle, at least up until they had a child. She’d thought they could consider getting help then, when they’d have something to take care of between them. With both of them at home, perhaps getting a servant would diffuse some of the tension between them. And they wouldn’t have to be all alone all the time.

“I mean, if you think we need help at home I wouldn’t mind it. It would still be very helpful.” She looked up, into his eyes. It made her more self-conscious than she had already been.

“I do get what you were saying though. And if both of us are at home I’m sure we wouldn’t need any help, we could just take care of everything ourselves.”

“Yeah…”

Silence arose and the two of them continued with their lunch, exchanging awkward glances now and again, or simply just looking at their food or to their side.

“It’s really good.”

“Oh, thank you.” She smiled uneasily.

“Y-you know, I was thinking about this before and I get if this is strange or if you don’t have an answer for it, but why did you um- ask for me to do the clothes and everything? Did you not trust me with the china?”

It was clear this meant as some sort of joke, so she forced a somewhat playful expression.

“I mean, not exactly. I know you’re a big boy but I just thought you would find it easier anyway.”

“Well- I could handle the china. You could have chosen to do the easier thing.”

“It’s not a question of what I thought you were capable of or anything. I was just wanting to get everything done quickly with as little accidents as possible.”

“I know how to move china around without breaking it.”

“Again, I’m not questioning your abilities! Merlin.”

It was suddenly tense between them. Here Draco had revealed that he did have something of an ego. She knew he did, but he’d been acting as if he hadn’t had one whenever they interacted and she found it unnerving.

“Maybe next time-”

“I can’t understand your issue with this, you could have said something if you didn’t want to do it. It’s not like doing the china was particularly fun either.”

“Fine.”

“Fine.”

Y/N shut her eyes as she took a long sip of her wine. This was.. just.. so strange. She was at her wit’s end with this. Was this what it was going to be like forever? Her deciding something and him having a weird ego problem with it? 

“This is all just-” Y/N paused and bit her lip, unsure of whether she should push it as far as she was thinking to do.

“This is all just what?”

“Well, this is all just so-so absurd! I don’t know what to do. This whole time I was thinking this would be something else but now you’re acting as if it’s not just what I should be taking care of. When I did choose something, you act as if I-”

“I didn’t mean for it to escalate that way- I just, I don’t know.”

“Well, either way, I was thinking I would take care of everything at the house and you could deal with whatever else.”

“I mean, is that what you want?”

“Does it matter? I doubt my parents would want me to-”

“That’s not the point, Y/N, as long as whatever you want to do is- respectable, I’d support you. You aren’t a pawn in this for everyone else or anything.”

“I don’t think it’s that simple.” Y/N had a somewhat annoyed expression on her face. “Are you done with your food?”

Draco looked down at his plate and the pie still left in front of them and shook his head.

“I’ll have another helping and take everything in myself.”

She looked at him for a few seconds. “As you wish.” She took her plate, cutlery and glass to the kitchen, rinsing them and charming them clean before putting them away.

After that, she headed to their bedroom, shutting the door behind her. She just needed some time to herself. The both of them had not been given any sort of time to sort through their plans or timelines for things at all. Y/N had been expecting it to be a fairly passive ordeal, she’d deal with all the home things and Draco could do whatever he liked, while Draco seemed to have the opposite idea in mind. Could they work through it? Maybe.

There was a knock at the door and Draco opened it with a click.

“Can I come in?”

Y/N took a deep breath.

“Sure.”

He stepped in with a tray, two small bowls and silver spoons in each one. He had… cake!

“There was some wedding cake leftover, I thought you might like some.”

“Thank you so much.”

She shifted back on the bed, making space for him to sit. He sat down a little closer to her than she’d expected but didn’t react to it. He set the tray between them and handed her one of the bowls. She dug into it immediately, not able to help how much she liked it.

“Do you like it?”

“I do, yeah. It’s honestly my favourite. Do you as well?”

“I really, really do. I suppose my mum knows me well. And we have similar tastes don’t we?”

“For cake, yes, definitely.”

They smiled at each other, this timein earnest. They continued with their cake before Draco suddenly began to speak.

“I- Well, I get it if you think you want something different from this. I don’t have to stay at home, or you can, we can look into separating if you think tha-”

“I don’t hate you, Draco.”

He seemed shocked at that.

“Really? I was thinking you didn’t want this at all... I assumed you had been planning something else or-”

“No, not really. I just- I don’t know. It’s not like any of this is easy. I’m sure it hasn’t been a cake walk for you either.”

He nodded, placing a hand over hers and clasping it gently before letting go.

“I don’t know what I’m doing with any of this, to be honest. I still feel so lost in all of this, I thought this was just something I should do, you know?”

“I get that, it was like that for me as well. I wasn’t entirely sure of what this was going to be like.”

“You know, Draco, I don’t really know what I want from this. I know what we’re expected to do, but I don’t feel ready for that yet. Not even close.”

“Don’t worry, it’s genuinely the same for me. I don’t even feel like I’m an adult yet.”

This made Y/N smile.

“We can take our time with all of this, can’t we?”

“Of course we can. It’s all up in the air for us to decide on. We have the budget for whatever you’d like to try, you don’t have to think you have to do whatever and.. To be very honest, I got annoyed back there because- I want to.. Be good at this, you know?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, at home I didn’t do... anything around the house. My parents said it was “servant stuff” and that it was below me to do it but... I’d like to just- be able to do it. I really would like to try. I don’t want it to be the way it was at my house. I want to… Well, I want to be there.”

“I understand.” 

This time, she placed her hands over his own and just smiled up at him for a second.

Maybe they could make this feel like home.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading, I really appreciate any and all feedback :)


End file.
